Episode Summary

When a series of heinous crimes strike the city, Mac finds himself between the devil and the deep blue sea; his duty to protect and serve gets in conflict with his superior's orders concerning how to handle the media and civilians' right to know.

7x07

this case was awesome, I really loved the beginning scene, it was totally brilliant.

this case is a perfect example of those cases wich make me feel exited by knowing that there is a serial killer loose in the middle of the city and everybody could be his next victim.

the only thing I didn´t like here was the reason why that boy thought he should kill people, but in genral this was one of the best cases in the last times, I´m vey glad with this season, it is getting better and better with every chapter.P.D: I´m from venezuela, I´m not an expert writing in English, please forgive my mistakesmoreless

I have mixed feelings about this episode. Spoilers.

I enjoyed the opening scene. It reminded me a little of the opening sequence a dramatic shootout in the lab on CSI ("A Family Affair"). It was well done with tension increasing gradually. And we could see the face of the shooter for the first time. Now we only had to wait for the CSIs to find out his identity and catch him in time. At first CSIs believed that the killer was Michael Reynolds but eventually it was revealed that it's Michael's brother Tom. There were few things that I didn't like. First of all it's nice to see Mac or Danny chasing suspects and shooting them from time to time but not at the expense of seeing them at the lab. I would love to see more of the ordinary lab work e.g. DNA testing. Jo finding a forearm hair at a rooftop was unconvincing for me(it was windy!) as well as Tom's motivation to kill. I was also confused when Jo made the decision to post Tom's image on the NY alert system . That means it was sent to every cell phone in New York. Is that even possible? (I'm not from NY:)) What if it was sent to Tom's phone? And I missed Adam!Other than that this episode was quite exciting. I liked Mac's emotional attitude and the touching moment when he realized that one of Micheal's paintings has his badge number on it.All in all good one.moreless

Goof: Mac tells Lindsay and Jo that Michael was found dead and that he was killed by the sniper. Lindsay then says that it explains the beetle at the sniper's hide sight. However, she couldn't have already known about the jar of beetles on Michael's body as she was just finding out he was dead without getting any specifics.

Mac: Our hope is that this was an isolated incident and that the shooter will be in custody soon. I know that's what the brass wants the public to believe. What I don't know... what we can't know... is when or where the killer will strike again.

Hawkes: I miss the no-vacancy sign out front?Sid: (Laughs) Uh, standing room only. Three DUI vics in the corner, a robbery gone bad and a pair of unrelated suicides against the wall over there.Hawkes: Perfect timing for a sniper attack.

(About Sid, who has been injured while retrieving a bullet from a body)Hawkes: His vitals look good. He's a little dazed and confused but I think he's gonna be okay.Jo: If it weren't for these he would be blind right now.Danny: What the hell happened?Hawkes: Well, he was retrieving the slug from our second sniper vic and all of a sudden, her head just... exploded.Danny: Exploded?Hawkes: Yeah.

Chief Ted Carver: Heard about your antics this morning.Mac: By antics, you mean telling the truth?Chief Ted Carver: Look, your own people is one thing. I trust you're not going to be tearing up any directives from above in front of the press.Mac: No, no. They were smart enough not to send me anything on paper this time.Chief Ted Carver: All right, wait, wait, listen. Neither of us is to utter the word sniper, is that clear? That's a direct order from Chief Sinclair to me. Now it is a direct order from me to you. Is that going to be a problem?Mac: They have a right to know.

Chief Ted Carver: The public has a right to know what we tell them.Mac: I'm not going to lie for you or anyone else.Chief Ted Carver: Who said anything about lying? Mac, look, I walked the beat just like you did, all right? I know where you're coming from but there is a difference between lying and withholding a truth.Mac: I don't think there is.

Mac: The sooner the people know, the faster they can take steps to protect themselves.Chief Ted Carver: It's not your call, all right? And I'm not about to create a citywide panic.Mac: Well, I don't think we can control that in this day and age, and why even have me up there at all?Chief Ted Carver: You're the head of the crime lab. It's gonna look like I'm withholding something if you're conveniently absent.

Reporter: So what you're saying is both victims were shot from a distance, through a window, by an unseen gunman who was possibly perched on a rooftop? Sounds like a sniper to me, Detective.Mac: Me, too.((Reporters clamor)Chief Ted Carver: Thank you. That's all for now (To Mac, as they walk away) What the hell was that?Mac: Look, ask yourself one question. If you were a civilian, would you want to know?Chief Ted Carver: You're a piece of work, Taylor, you know that? What the hell am I supposed to tell the commissioner and the mayor now?Mac: You tell them I never uttered the word sniper.

Lindsay: This guy's just going around shooting anybody?Jo: Starting to look like it.Lindsay: So many people. So many targets. We walk around down there every day. You never think about how vulnerable you are.

Danny: How's he doing?Sid: Well, doctor says he's fine. In fact, I hear he's already back at the office. They told him to take the rest of the week off, but you know Sid.Danny: Right, right. I mean, he's not happy unless he's looking at dead things.

Lindsay: Maybe Elizabeth was killed to make Vanessa's murder look random.Hawkes: Yeah. Kill several victims, hide your intended target.Mac: Let's run with it. Wouldn't be the first time we've seen something like that out of a spree killer. And, at this point, we're not ruling anything out.

Jo: Blood on the beetle and mitochondrial DNA from the hair both got hits in CODIS Missing Persons.Hawkes: To the same person?Jo: A nine-year-old boy who went missing 15 years ago.Mac: Michael Reynolds.Lindsay: You know him?Mac: I spent three years searching for him.

Mac: Michael had been missing for 72 hours when this case file came across my desk. He was on his way home from school when he was abducted.Jo: Did you catch the guy?Mac: Took three years. Arthur Francis. Twice convicted sex offender. Whole time he was missing, we didn't know whether he was alive or dead. It was the first case I ever questioned which of those two options might be worse.Jo: I'm sure his own parents asked themselves the same thing.Mac: At age 12, he finally managed to escape. Clawed his way through the floorboards to a crawl space.Jo: I can't imagine that moment for a 12-year-old kid. It's heartbreaking.Mac: I went to see him a few times after he returned home. Made sure he was doing all right. He always wanted to wear my badge. He asked me if it was pure gold the first time he put it on. His brother Tom, too. I thought for sure one of those boys would become a cop. I tried to stay in touch with the family, but then another case came along, then another case and I lost touch. Now he's the primary suspect in a murder investigation.Jo: Mac... there's only so much this job allows us to do.

Hawkes: There are no bank accounts under the name Michael Reynolds. No credit cards, either.Jo: In a lot of cases like Michael's, victims just want to fall off the face of the Earth, disappear, hide somewhere no one can find them.Hawkes: Consistent with the method of killing.

Mac: I interviewed you, sitting right there in that window. You were probably about...Hayley Montgomery: Nine. Just like Michael. I'll never forget when my Mom told me what happened. What happened to him could have happened to any of us.

Mac: You prepared to tell the public the truth now?Chief Ted Carver: How sure are we it's the same guy?Mac: Sure as I was before.Chief Ted Carver: So, I hear you've got a primary suspect. Somebody you're familiar with?Mac: Michael Reynolds, missing person 15 years ago. I handled the case.Chief Ted Carver: Complete whack job?Mac: Well, he was held against his will for three years, physically and emotionally abused the whole time. It affected him, if that's what you mean.Chief Ted Carver: Your stunt at the press conference didn't stop him from killing this guy, did it?

Chief Ted Carver: Exactly what do you want from me?Mac: I want you to go to the commissioner, tell him we're going public... with the whole thing; Everything we know. This whole city should be on high alert. Otherwise, I promise you, there will be a fourth victim.

Jo: Michael Francis?Lindsay: Another dead end.Jo: Francis... Francis, Francis. Stockholm Syndrome. In a lot of abduction cases, the victim will actually start to sympathize with his captors. Lindsay: Right, especially when they're held a long time.Jo: And Arthur Francis was Michael's abductor. Michael Reynolds is Michael Francis. He took his kidnapper's last name.

Flack: Maybe he decided to do us all a favour and took himself out.Danny: It's hard to tell in this place but I am seeing indications of a struggle. And if he took himself out, where's the gun?Flack: Could be under his body.Danny: (Checks) No. No gun here.Flack: Well, I'm no expert but I've seen enough guns in my time to know that they don't just grow legs and walk away.Danny: No, he didn't commit suicide. Michael Reynolds was murdered. What a life. He gets kidnapped, kept for three years, escapes... only to be murdered 12 years later.

Mac: Michael had a brother... Tom Reynolds. Lindsay: Mitochondrial DNA from the hair was a match to Michael. Mac: Mito's shared by all maternal relatives, including brothers, so it would also be a match to Tom.Lindsay: So he's our shooter. Why?Jo: Off to one side, unnoticed. Everyone else around him iscelebrating Michael's return. Tom is just standing there.Mac: Emotionless, neglected.Lindsay: So you're telling me he starts shooting people 'cause he didn't get enough hugs and kisses from mommy and daddy?

(About serial killers)Jo: Neglect, it was the most common form of abuse in their childhood. Lindsay: He murdered his brother, then he goes on a shooting rampage. Getting to that point cannot be that simple.Jo: No, it's not. It's usually a preexisting condition, a genetic anomaly of some sort that renders them susceptible.Mac: Nature combined with nurture.

Jo: I've seen this type of behavior before. They start off by killing a loved one.Lindsay: The one that they think is responsible for their neglect?Jo: Yeah. And then things spiral out of control from there.

Tom Reynolds: I tried everything... to make you notice me. But you look past me. You cast me aside. Like I'm invisible. But I'm not invisible. I'm right here. Right here in front of you. You turned my life into a hole, empty of everything. One day... you'll pay.

Mac: Your family turned away from you. We all did. I know what that must have been like.Tom Reynolds: You don't know anything. No one knows what that's like living in a hole! Abandoned. Ignored. No one knows what that's like!Mac: Killing people won't change that!Tom Reynolds: Look around you. What's going on. All of this is because of me! Because of what I'm doing!Mac: There are other ways, Tom!Tom Reynolds: I've tried all the other ways. Nothing changes. It's just the same! But now? Now it's different. People will know me. They'll know my name. They'll know my face.

(Sid is having difficulty reading some documents. Jo hands him over a pair of glasses)Jo: Would these help?Sid: They're a perfect match to the other ones. Thank you.Jo: You're so welcome. How they feel? Little heavier, maybe?Sid: Well, now that you mention it, yeah.Jo: Impact-resistant glass. Just in case (Chuckles) Call it the mom in me.Sid: Well, the thing I can't figure out is, how did you knowmy prescription?Jo: Well, I'm a Detective, Sid.Sid: Oh, yeah. And a very good one, I see.Jo: I don't like to brag, but yes, I am.

Original International Air Dates:Canada: November 5, 2010 on CTV.Norway: December 29, 2010 on TVNorge.Turkey: February 14, 2011 on CNBC-e.United Kingdom: February 19, 2011 on Five/Five HD.Sweden: February 28, 2011 on Kanal 5.Spain: April 12, 2011 on AXN.Czech Republic: April 13, 2011 on AXN.Slovakia: October 18, 2011 on JOJ.Germany: November 7, 2011 on Vox.Finland: May 2, 2012 on MTV3.

ALLUSIONS (4)

Jeff Weise, David Gray, Charles Whitman.Jeffrey James Weise (1988-2005) was responsible for the Red Lake Senior High School massacre where he murdered nine people and wounded five others in a shooting spree on March 21, 2005 before committing suicide.

David Gray (1957-1990) was responsible for the Aramoana massacre in New Zealand where he murdered thirteen people on November 13, 1990. Police officers shot him dead the next day.

Charles Joseph Whitman (1941-1966) was responsible for the University of Texas at Austin massacre where he and and a former marine murdered sixteen and wounded thirty two on August 1, 1966 before being shot dead by a police officer.

David Berkowitz, better known as Son of Sam, was a 1970s New York City serial killer who murdered six people and wounded several others. His crimes became legendary because of the written statements he sent to the police and the media.

Danny: I mean, there hasn't been anything like this on the market since Hinckley's assassination attempt on Reagan in '81.

Ronald Reagan became the first serving United States president to survive being shot in an assassination attempt when he was wounded by John Hinckley, Jr. while giving a speech at the Washington Hilton Hotel on March 30, 1981, just 69 days into his presidency. Reagan's lung was punctured but prompt medical attention allowed for a quick recovery.

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